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The Journal of Neuroscience, January 21, 2004, 24(3):605-614; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4313-03.2004

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
The Transition from Development to Motor Control Function in the Corticospinal System

Zhuo Meng,¹ Qun Li,¹ and John H. Martin^1,2

¹Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University and ²New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York 10032

During early postnatal development, corticospinal (CS) system stimulation, electrical or transcranial magnetic, is minimally effective in producing muscle contraction, despite having axon terminals that excite spinal neurons. Later, after stimulation becomes more effective, the cortical motor representation develops, and movements the system controls in maturity are expressed. We determined whether development of temporal facilitation (response enhancement produced by the second of a pair of pyramidal tract stimuli, or a higher stimulus multiple of a train of stimuli) correlated with these changes. Facilitation of the monosynaptic CS response was larger in older kittens and adults than younger kittens. When facilitation was strong, strong motor responses were evoked by pyramidal stimulation with small currents and few pulses. With strong facilitation in older kittens, corticospinal axon varicosities colocalize synaptophysin like adults, suggesting a presynaptic mechanism. With effective facilitation, control signals from the cortex can be sufficiently effective to provoke muscle contraction for guiding movements.

Key words: motor cortex; corticospinal system; spinal cord; development; postnatal cord; spinal; postnatal; cat

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Received July 11, 2003; revised November 24, 2003; accepted November 24, 2003.

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